Fire guard ceiling support



Nov. 6, 1962 w. L. NASH 3,062,298

FIRE GUARD CEILING SUPPORT Filed July l5, 1960 IN V EN TOR. I/I/LLAM Lil/'ASH BYW United States Patent Oliice 3,052,298 Patented Nov. 6, 1962 3,062,298 FIRE GUARD CEILING SUPPORT Willard L. Nash, 1274 48th Ave., San Francisco 22, Calif. `Filed July 15, 1960, Ser. No. 43,238 4 Claims. (Cl. 169-1) My present invention relates to building construction and more particularly to a safe soundproong or false ceiling of modular construction for modernization of high ceiling rooms having an installed sprinkler system.

An object ofl my invention is to provide a dropped or false ceiling for the modernization of high ceiling rooms and lobbies that will be found particularly practical and feasible for use in buildings having installed sprinkler systems and which will meet with the safety requirements of tire underwriters rules.

Another object of the invention is to provide a false ceiling for installation in rooms having a high ceiling with installed sprinkler systems that will become non-intertering with the sprinkler system in the event on a raise in temperature to a point at which the installed sprinkler system will normally become operative.

A further object of the invention is to provide a building modernizing ceiling for use in high ceiling rooms with an installed heat sensitive sprinkler system having heat sensitive supporting means that will permit the ceiling to drop and expose the installed sprinklers in the event of a re I therebeneath.

Other objects and advantages Will be in part evident to those skilled in the art and in part pointed out hereinafter in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein there is shown by way of illustration and not of limitation a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawing, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views:

FIGURE 1, is a fragmentary perspective view schematically illustrating my invention,

FIGURE 2, is a fragmentary view partly in section taken along line 29-2 of FIGURE 3 looking in direction of arrows showing details of the ceiling supporting means,

FIGURE 3, is a plan View of the device as shown in FIGURE 2 of the drawing taken along line 3--3 looking in direction of arrows, and

`FIGURE 4, is a fragmentary sectional View taken along line 4-4 of FIGURE 3.

While a ceiling as contemplated by my invention may take many different forms I have illustrated one form thereof in which a false ceiling, designated generally by the numeral 10, is suspended beneath a higher original ceiling 11 of a room with installed temperature responsive sprinkler heads 12 located at spaced points thereabout. The false ceiling is suspended upon hangers or suspension rods 13 that are permanently secured at their upper ends to the ceiling 11. At their lower ends these rods 13 carry a heat responsive release means 14 which is designed to become inoperative as a support for the ceiling 10 in the event of a tire therebelow. In this showing the ceiling 10 is formed of modular units 15 of soundprootng material or of ornamental appearance. In some instances it is possible that these units 15 may consist of conventional neon light tube concealing units. The units 15 should preferably be of rectangular outline and of a size corresponding to modular standards. In this ligure of the drawing the units 15 are approximately four feet square. In a preferred arrangement the modular units 15 are supported upon a grill like frame formed of inverted T-iron such as are used on ceilings of this general character. As will be presently pointed out this grill like frame of T-irons upon which the units 15 are individually supported is so constructed and assembled that in the event of a ire therebeneath, the intersecting T-irons at the meeting corners of any four of these units will be released in a manner that will permit at least the four units thus supported at their meeting corners to drop free of the related supporting tie rod 13.

f In the remaining gures of the drawing there is shown an assembly for the support of the T-iron formed grill upon which the ceiling units 15 are carried. In these showings the numeral 16 is an eyebolt having a threaded shank 17 that carries a fusible or heat destructible disc 18 at it-s lower end. This disc 18 in turn supports a spiderlike member 19 having four arms upon which, as shown in FIGURE 3, the meeting ends of four T-irons 20, 21, 22 and 23 rest when the assembly is suspended from a higher ceiling by the suspension rods 13. As indicated in FIG- URE 2, the meeting ends of the T-irons 22 have their horizontally extending flanges cut away so that the vertical web thereof may be projected into overlaying clips 24 that are carried by the arms of the spider-like member 19 and act to main-tain the T-irons in their grill forming and ceiling unit 15 supporting positions. These clips 24 also function as a means for securing the T-irons in an operative position upon the spider-like member 19. As here shown, the T-irons are notched at their vends as at 25 for thev reception of an offset tongue 26'that is formedupon one side of eachl of the clips 24. Additional clips 27 which act as a stop for the ends of the T-irons are also carried by the clips 24 to insure a proper positioning of each of the T-irons with respect to the fusible or destructible disc 18. The fusible disc 1S is here shown as centered within a relatively large central opening 28 in the spider-like member 19 and is designed and -so proportioned that upon its failure as a support for the spider 19 the entire assembly as described will fall apart or collapse as a support for the T-irons at their meeting ends and thus permit that portion of the ceiling unit supporting grill to fall free of the suspension rods 13 and thus expose the sprinkler system thereabove to the heat conditions which have resulted in or caused the collapse of the assembled T-iron grill at the points where it is supported by the spiders 19. As a normal security measure and to prevent an inadvertent or accidental displacement of the T-irons from the spiders 19 there is a relatively large overhanging washer 29 that is held over the meeting ends of the clips 24 by the eyebolt 16 as it is threaded upon its disc supporting shank 17. In addition to the overhanging washer 29 the assembly described may also include a finishing disc 30 of relatively large diameter retained in position by the fusible or heat destructible disc 18 as a inish on the underside of the assembled spiders.

In operation it will be seen that when the fusible disc 18 as viewed in FIGURE 2 of the drawing is rendered inoperative by exposure to excessive heat the spider 19 will be free to drop free of the supporting shank 17. As this occurs the four different T-irons supported at their ends by this released `spider 19 will also become disengaged with the spider and the overlaying clips 24. Then the four adjacent modular ceiling units 15 which are supported at one corner by the affected tie rod 13 will be thus deprived of the necessary support and at least these four units will therefore fall and expose the higher ceiling 11 with its sprinkler heads 12 to the action of the lire which may have been responsible for the failure of the fusible element 18.

It is believed that this invention is new and all such changes as come within the scope of the appended claims are to be considered as part of this invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A false ceiling for sprinkler equipped rooms, comprising a series of spaced tie rods depending from the ceiling of the sprinkler equipped room, a sectionalized grid of ceiling unit supporting T-irons, the T'irons of said grid being in lengths comparable to the sides of modular ceiling forming units, a T-iron supporting spider carried by said tie rods, and a fusible supporting member responsive to abnormal temperature conditions carried by each of said tie rods for supporting a T-iron supporting spider adapted and arranged to release said spiders and said modular ceiling units and thus expose the sprinklers of said room to temperature conditions responsible for the failure of said fusible supporting member.

2. In a safety modernizing ceiling for sprinkler equipped rooms, the combination of a room having an installed sprinkler system a series of uniformly spaced tie rods secured to and depending from the ceiling of the sprinkler equipped room, a spider having four arms located at the lower ends of each of said spaced tie rods upon which inverted T-irons extending at 90 angles are supported, said T-irons being of a length not substantially less than the spacings between said tie rods, and a spider retaining member carried by each of said tie rods adapted and arranged to become inoperative as a support for said spiders when exposed to abnormal temperature conditions therebelow.

3. In a safety modernizing ceiling for sprinkler equipped rooms, the combination of a room having an installed sprinkler system a series of uniformly spaced tie rods secured to and depending from the ceiling of the sprinkler equipped room, a yspider having four arms located at the lower ends of each of said spaced tie rods,

inverted lengths of T-iron extending at angles sup- 30 ported at their ends between said spiders, said lengths of Tiron being not substantially less than the spacings between said tie rods, a plurality of modular ceiling forming panels supported upon said inverted T-irons below said sprinkler system, and a fusible retaining member carried by each of said tie rods adapted and arranged to become inoperative as a support for said spiders when exposed to abnormal temperatures conditions therebelow.

4. In a ceiling for modernizing high ceiling rooms, the combination of a plurality of modular dimensioned ceiling forming units of rectangular outline, a grid for supporting said ceiling forming units comprising short lengths of inverted T-irons the length substantially corresponding with the sides of said ceiling forming units, a suspension rod terminating with its lower end located at the meeting corners of said ceiling forming units, a spider carried by said suspension rods having extending arms upon which the ends of said lengths of T-iron rest, a clip carried by each of the arms of said spider for retaining the ends of said T-irons thereupon, and a fusible supporting means carried by each of said suspension rods upon which said spiders are individually supported.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,772,742 Sprankle Dec. 4, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 690,524 Great Britain Apr. 22, 1953 

